A rod-shaped article forming device of the aforementioned type is applied to, for example, a cigarette manufacturing machine and a filter rod manufacturing device. As an example of the forming device, a cigarette rod forming device comprises an endless garniture tape and wraps a shred tobacco layer in wrapping paper during the travelling process of the garniture tape through a wrapping section of the cigarette manufacturing machine (refer to Patent Document 1 as an example).
(Patent Document 1)
Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-214854 (pages 3 and 4, FIG. 1)
More specifically, the shred tobacco layer is transferred from a tobacco band onto the wrapping paper immediate before the wrapping section. At this moment, the shred tobacco layer is compressed by a compression mold including a shoe and a tongue to be gradually formed into a round rod-shape. The wrapping paper is laid on the upper surface of the garniture tape and travels with the garniture tape. In this travelling process, the wrapping paper and the shred tobacco layer are drawn into the wrapping section with the garniture tape.
The garniture tape is made of a flexible material and gradually bent with respect to a width direction thereof along a forming guide (bed) when passing through the wrapping section. At this moment, the wrapping paper is formed into a U-shape on the inner side of the garniture tape and wraps the lower portion of the shred tobacco layer formed into the round rod-shape. After seam paste is applied to one of side edges of the wrapping paper, the wrapping paper is formed into a tube by upper molds referred to as a short holder and a long holder, and both side edges of the wrapping paper are overlapped to each other to form a rod-shaped article, namely a continuous cigarette rod.
Although the above-mentioned garniture tape has strength enough to strongly pull the wrapping paper and the shred tobacco layer through the wrapping section, the useful life of the garniture tape is not eternal. After the lapse of the useful life, therefore, the garniture tape becomes non-usable. Especially in recent years, the operation speed of the cigarette manufacturing machine has been more and more increased, and accordingly the garniture tape is made to travel at high speed. As a result, the average useful life of the garniture tape is liable to become shorter.
When the useful life of the garniture tape is consumed, the useful life is expired generally with breakage therein. On the contrary, if the garniture tape is partially damaged before being broken, the tape cannot be normally utilized any more thereafter and falls into a nonusable state before the lapse of the useful life thereof. The undesired shortening of useful life of the garniture tape is attributable to the damage to the both side edges of the garniture tape and the meander of the garniture tape during the travel. For instance, if the both side edges of the garniture tape is partially cut or ripped though the central part thereof is still useful, the damage to the both side edges inhibits the normal usage of the garniture tape. It is considered that the meander of the garniture tape occurs for the reason that tension is produced intensively on either side edge of the tape for some reason to cause the garniture tape to deviate in the width direction thereof from a path on which the tape should run originally. Once the garniture tape begins to meander, it is not adjustable, and thus the tape cannot carry out a normal function.
As described above, in the technical field of a rod-shaped article forming device, it is an object to remove the factors that shorten the useful life of the garniture tape and to enable the normal usage of the garniture tape within its original useful life.